Affiliate disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This does not influence our assessment of the evidence below.
Evidence rating: Moderate — the nitric-oxide amino acids have randomized human support; several of the botanical add-ons have trials showing no effect
What Nitric Boost Ultra Claims To Be
Nitric Boost Ultra is a powdered daily scoop sold to men for blood flow, stamina, and sexual performance. The underlying premise is the nitric oxide pathway: nitric oxide relaxes the smooth muscle lining blood vessels, vessels widen, blood flow increases. That pathway is not marketing invention — it is the same mechanism PDE5 inhibitors work downstream of, and it is one of the better-characterised stories in vascular physiology.
Whether the specific ingredients in this scoop move that pathway meaningfully is the part worth examining.
What’s Actually In It
Eight named components, sold as roughly 30 servings per jar:
- L-arginine
- L-citrulline
- Beetroot powder
- Horny goat weed
- Dong quai
- Ginkgo biloba powder
- D-aspartic acid
- Niacin (vitamin B3)
Per-serving amounts are not disclosed. As with most proprietary blends, this is the crux: the trials below used specific doses, and there is no way to check whether one scoop delivers them.
What The Research Shows
According to PubMed, the evidence here is unusually lopsided — strong for the front three ingredients, actively negative for two of the rest.
L-citrulline has a small but directly on-point trial. Twenty-four men with mild erectile difficulty (erection hardness score of 3) took placebo for one month, then L-citrulline 1.5 g/day for a second month. Improvement to a normal erection hardness score occurred in 2 of 24 men on placebo versus 12 of 24 on citrulline, and monthly intercourse frequency rose from 1.53 to 2.3. No adverse events occurred. The authors were explicit that citrulline was less effective than PDE5 inhibitors, positioning it as an alternative for men reluctant to use those drugs rather than an equal. DOI The design was single-blind with a fixed placebo-then-treatment order, which is weaker than a proper randomized crossover.
L-arginine has the larger evidence base. A systematic review and meta-analysis of 10 randomized controlled trials covering 540 men found arginine supplementation at 1,500–5,000 mg significantly improved erectile function versus placebo or no treatment (odds ratio 3.37), along with intercourse satisfaction, orgasmic function, and overall satisfaction scores. Sexual desire scores did not change. Adverse events were more common on arginine (8.3% vs 2.3%) but none were severe. DOI A second meta-analysis, restricted to arginine combined with pine bark extract across three studies, found similar improvements. DOI
Note the dose range: 1,500–5,000 mg. That is a substantial amount of arginine, and an undisclosed blend may or may not reach it.
Beetroot’s nitrate effect is real and measurable. A meta-analysis of 22 randomized trials (roughly 1,250 participants) found beetroot juice lowered systolic blood pressure by 3.55 mmHg and diastolic by 1.32 mmHg versus control, with larger effects at higher doses and longer durations. DOI A separate meta-analysis restricted to hypertensive patients found a systolic reduction of about 4.95 mmHg but no significant diastolic effect. DOI
Ginkgo has been tested for sexual function twice, and failed twice. A triple-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of ginkgo 240 mg daily in patients with sexual impairment found some dramatic individual responses but no statistically significant difference from placebo. DOI An earlier double-blind placebo-controlled trial in 37 patients likewise found no significant difference from placebo at weeks 2, 4, or 8 — and explicitly failed to replicate an earlier positive finding, with the authors noting how large the placebo response was in sexual function measures. DOI
D-aspartic acid may work backwards. In 24 resistance-trained men randomized to placebo, 3 g/day, or 6 g/day of D-aspartic acid for 14 days, the 6 g group showed significantly reduced total and free testosterone versus placebo, with no change in estradiol or SHBG. The 3 g dose did nothing measurable. DOI
The Honest Verdict
What holds up: The nitric oxide core is genuine. L-arginine has meta-analyzed randomized evidence for erectile function, L-citrulline a smaller single-blind trial pointing the same way, and beetroot nitrate has robust meta-analytic support for lowering blood pressure — which is a plausible route to better peripheral circulation. If you strip this formula down to those three ingredients, it is a rational product.
What doesn’t: Ginkgo has two placebo-controlled trials showing no benefit for sexual function, and it is in here anyway. D-aspartic acid at the higher tested dose lowered testosterone rather than raising it. Horny goat weed and dong quai are traditional-use ingredients without the randomized human trials that would put them in the same tier. And the effect sizes for the ingredients that do work are modest — the citrulline trial’s own authors said as much.
Who this makes sense for: A man with mild, occasional difficulty who wants to try the nitric oxide pathway before considering anything pharmaceutical, and who understands he is buying a modest effect rather than a dramatic one. It also makes reasonable sense as a pre-workout blood flow product, which is where the arginine and beetroot literature is strongest.
Who should skip it: Anyone with persistent erectile difficulty, which is frequently the first visible sign of vascular or metabolic disease and deserves a physician’s evaluation, not a scoop of powder. Anyone taking nitrates, blood pressure medication, or blood thinners — this stacks with all three. And anyone buying it specifically for a testosterone boost; the D-aspartic acid data points the other way.
Check current pricing and availability
View Nitric Boost on the official site
This article is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Dietary supplements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Talk to your physician before starting any supplement, especially if you have a diagnosed condition or take medication.
Research cited via PubMed:
- Cormio L, et al. Urology. 2011;77(1):119-22. DOI
- Rhim HC, et al. J Sex Med. 2019;16(2):223-234. DOI
- Tian Y, et al. Front Endocrinol. 2023;14:1211720. DOI
- Bahadoran Z, et al. Adv Nutr. 2017;8(6):830-838. DOI
- Benjamim CJR, et al. Front Nutr. 2022;9:823039. DOI
- Wheatley D. Hum Psychopharmacol. 2004;19(8):545-8. DOI
- Kang BJ, et al. Hum Psychopharmacol. 2002;17(6):279-84. DOI
- Melville GW, et al. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2015;12:15. DOI